Timko Strikes Out 13 in Curwensville’s Shut Out of Harmony

CURWENSVILLE — In poker, when a player says they have an “ace in the hole,” normally they have at least one ace in their hand.  Whether the game is five-card draw, seven-card stud, or the style of play made famous at the World Series of Poker, no-limit hold’em, if there’s one ace in the player’s hand, it’s a good start.

So how can poker relate to baseball?  In the case of the Golden Tide of Curwensville, their ace in the hole is more like an “ace on the mound.”

On Monday, Tide pitcher Bryce Timko got the start and the victory against the Kane Wolves.  Three days removed from that game, head coach Tom Harzinski decided to go once again with his ace, giving Timko the start against the Harmony Owls on Thursday afternoon.

It was a great choice, because Timko put forth the best effort of his young career, and was backed up with the best defensive game Curwensville has played all year.  Curwensville only had one error in seven innings, while blasting eight hits off of starting Owl pitcher Dylan Kurtz.  All the while, Timko was in his groove early, often, and feeling it.  His best effort of the season matched his season-high in strikeouts, and a season-low for hits allowed.

Timko’s pitching, and the Tide defense, were exceptional in a very definitive 6-0 shutout victory.

“Bryce was on today.  He’s a quality pitcher.  When we throw him out on the mound, we expect to be in every game.  He shut the door on them today,” Harzinski said of his pitcher.  “We needed this, especially after the heartbreaking loss on Tuesday night.  We needed Bryce to come in and shut the door.”

Timko shut the door early, and often.  Through the first three innings of the game, the sophomore was perfect.  Of the nine batters he faced, seven of them were struck out.  In his 6.2 innings of work, he struck out 13 batters, just two shy of his season high and also two shy of tying the program record.  It wasn’t until the fourth inning when he walked Adam McGarvey on a full count that ended his perfect game.

When he wasn’t striking out batters, the defense did its part by only having one fielding error, and keeping Timko from getting into a jam.  McGarvey ended up stranded at third when Adam Dubyak grounded out to first.

Curwensville got things going early in the first inning when Christian Bakaysa hit a single into center field and then stole second.  Timko then helped his own cause, reaching on an error by Kalob Watson, then stealing second to give Zach McClure an opportunity.  He did just that, taking an 0-1 pitch to left-center field, clearing the bases with an RBI-single that gave the Tide the lead 2-0.

The second inning saw a bit more of the same when Noah VonGunden pulled off his own RBI-single to plate designated hitter Broc Heitsenrether, giving Curwensville the 3-0 lead.

Kurtz continued to try and keep things going, and thanks to solid defense made it out of the third inning with only one hit, but no runs.

The fourth inning was a bit different as Zach Brewer came home on a double play, making the score 4-0 after four innings.

All the while, Timko’s arm was dealing, although it was clear the long afternoon was getting to him.  As the innings progressed, his pitch count got a little higher, and he was seeing more full counts.  But, defense and solid pitching continued to keep Curwensville ahead.

Harzinski knew his team had a game like this in them, and are still progressing in their efforts.

“We had a great defensive game.  We needed to clean that up, and we’re still working on that,” he said.  “We just need to work on the little things, get a few clutch hits here and there, and we’ll be fine.

The fifth inning was the best outing for the Tide as a group.  Things stared off well with Avery Francisco reaching second on his second double of the game, his sixth in three games.  Timko then singled to put runners on the corners, but also ended up leaving Francisco alone on the diamond as he was picked off by Kurtz.  But, McClure then came through as he sailed what appeared to be a sacrifice fly into left field.  The problem was McGarvey had the ball bounce from his glove, and he lost precious seconds trying to find it.

Francisco made it home on the error, making it 5-0 with just one out on the board.  McClure then came home on an RBI-single by Josh Terry to add in the sixth run of the game.

Kurtz was then pulled in the bottom of the sixth inning in favor of Austin Tiesi, who used just 10 pitches to put away the Tide.

With his pitch count already high, Harzinski gambled to put Timko back on the mound to start the final inning, knowing there was a good chance he was not going to have him pitch for the next seven days due to PIAA rules.  Still, he felt his ace could close the deal.

Michael Koblosky got things started big with a deep double to center field.  But, Tiesi then grounded out to first, but still putting a runner in at third.  Watson then popped out to Brewer at first, putting two outs on the scoreboard.  At that point, Harzinski saw the pitch count, and decided the time was right.  In the bullpen was Heitsenrether warming up his arm, and with that, Timko made the move to left field, Francisco then moved to third base, and Jeremiah Farley, who Heitsenrether was hitting for in this game, went to the dugout.

It was one out to get the win, and with a full count, Hunter Rainey grounded the ball directly to VonGunden, who made the easy throw to first, closing out the afternoon for the home team.

Harzinski felt his team was right where they needed to be, and still believes the aspirations that came at the start of the year are within reach.  It was only a matter of keeping the momentum they earned in the past three games.

“We’re starting to get there.  Our goal at the beginning of the season was to make the playoffs, and that hope is still alive,” he said.  “So we’re gonna come out and compete at every game we play at.  We have those four games coming up, and it’s going to be a grind.

“We need all hands on deck.  But I feel confident because this team is starting to gel.”

The start to May is a challenge for Curwensville (4-8) with four games in five days, the first three being on the road.  It all begins on Monday with a trip to Punxsutawney to face the Chucks, a game that originally was slated for late March but was postponed due to weather.  First pitch is at 4:15 p.m.

SCORE BY INNING

Harmony   000 000 0 – 0 2 5
Curwensville   210 120 X – 6 8 1

Harmony – 0

Dylan Kurtz P/3B 3000, Adam McGarvey LF 2000, Daniel Rorabaugh SS/P 3000, Adam Dubyak RF 3000, Michael Koblosky CF 3020, Austin Tiesi 1B 3000, Kalob Watson 3B 3000, Hunter Rainey 2B 2000, Cody Rowles PH 1000, Connor Blake DH 1000.  TOTALS 24 0 2 0.

Curwensville – 6

Noah VonGunden SS 4012, Christian Bakaysa RF 4110, Avery Francisco LF/3B 4120, Bryce Timko P/LF 4100, Zach McClure 2B 3113, Austin Butlin C 2000, Devin Barrett PR 0000, Zach Brewer 1B 3110, Broc Heitsenrether DH/P 2120, Josh Terry CF 3000.  TOTALS 29 6 8 5.

E:  Rainey, McGarvey, Rorabaugh (2), Watson; McClure.  LOB:  5/7.  2B:  Koblosky; Francisco (2).  DP:  Koblosky.  SB:  Timko, VonGunden, Bakaysa, Barrett, Heitsenrether.  

PITCHING

Harmony:  Kurtz-5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 3 K, 2 BB; Tiesi-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 K, 0 BB.

Curwensville:  Timko-6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 13 K, 2 BB; Heitsenrether-0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 K, 0 BB.

WP-Timko.  LP-Kurtz. 

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